IQBT Beginner’s Guide: Classic Music Written by Clark Smith Edited by Fred Morlan Last updated: February 9, 2021

Underlined portions of composer’s names are usually required for a correct answer Works highlighted are the most popular and/or important in questions Operas, ballets, and musicals are largely omitted; see separate lists for these genres (to be developed)

Psalms (Biblical texts often set to music) Gregorian Chant (monophonic chant tradition named after a “Great” pope) Polyphony – the use of multiple melodic lines in a single piece Exemplified by the music of Giovanni Palestrina Hildegard von Bingen (German abbess, called the "Sibyl on the Rhine") Ordo Virtutum - earliest known musical morality play Johann Pachelbel (German, Baroque) Canon in D - cello plays bassline under three violins playing in a round; popular at weddings and originally paired with a gigue (“zheeg“) Antonio Vivaldi (Italian, Baroque “Red Priest” – was a Roman Catholic priest) The Four Seasons - set of four violin concertos from The Contest Between Harmony and Invention, each paired with a sonnet Johann Sebastian Bach (German, Baroque) Brandenburg Concertos - six concerti grossi dedicated to margrave of namesake principality The Well-Tempered Clavier - two books of alternating preludes and fugues in every major and minor key Goldberg Variations - harpsichord collection written to help Count Kaiserling sleep Other notable works: The Musical Offering; Six Suites for Solo Cello - favorites of Yo-Yo Ma; Partitas and Sonatas for Solo Violin; St Matthew Passion - oratorio noted for a string “halo effect” under every word spoken by Jesus; Mass in B minor; Art of Fugue - contains four canons, and fourteen “contrapunctus” movements each exemplifying the title genre George Frederic Handel (German-born, longtime English resident, Baroque) Messiah - oratorio during whose “Hallelujah Chorus” it is customary to stand up Water Music - three suites written for George I and most likely intended for performance on barges on the Thames River Other work: Music for the Royal Fireworks - written for a failed ceremony celebrating the signing of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle Franz Joseph Haydn (Austrian, Classical) “Father of the Symphony” and “Father of the String Quartet” patronized by the Esterhazy family Symphony No. 45, “Farewell” - Sturm und Drang symphony,during the finale of which musicians extinguish candles and leave stages; demonstrated composer’s desire to leave Esterhaza. No 94, “Surprise” - named for the sudden tutti fortissimo chord in its slow second movement Other notable works: Paris Symphonies, No 82-87; London Symphonies, No 93-104; Sun Quartets - named for the cover image used for these string quartets

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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Austrian, Classical) “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik” - “a little serenade” opening with a Mannheim rocket Symphony No 41, “Jupiter” - final symphony by Mozart, which closes with a five-voice fugato Requiem in D minor - sacred work completed by Franz Sussmayr (who created its “Sanctus” and “Agnus Dei”) Other notable works: Symphony No 25, “Little G minor”; Symphony No 40, “Great G minor Ludwig van Beethoven (German, Classical) Symphony No 3, “Eroica” - symphony with a movement two “funeral march” dedicated “to the memory of a great man” Symphony No 5 - first movement based on “fate knocking at the door” short-short-short-long motif Symphony No 6, “Pastoral” - Programmatic symphony featuring a “Scene by the Brook” and 4th movement “Thunderstorm” Symphony No 9, “Choral” - finale features setting of Fredrich Schiller’s “Ode to Joy” Piano Sonata No 14, quasi una fantasia, “Moonlight” - sonata which Ludwig Rellstab nicknamed for a phenomenon observed on the waters of Lake Lucerne Fur Elise- bagatelle/albumblatt which may depict Therese Malfatti in the 3/8 opening alternation of sixteenth-note Es and D-sharps Other notable work: Kreutzer Sonata - originally dedicated to black musician George Bridgetower until he slighted a woman the composer liked Franz Schubert (Austrian, Romantic) Symphony No 6, “Little C major” - so called to distinguish it from composer’s ninth Symphony No 8, “Unfinished” - usually completed with edited content from composer’s Incidental Music to Rosamunde Symphony No 9, “Great C major” - Schumann praised its “heavenly length”; was very long (nearly an hour long) for its time Piano Quintet in A major, “Trout” Quintet - based on the composer’s earlier lied (art song) “Die Forelle” Other notable works: String Quartet No 14 in D minor, “Death and the Maiden”; “Der Erlkönig”; Winterreise Hector Berlioz (French, Romantic) Symphonie Fantastique- five-movement symphony depicting an opium trip and featuring an “idee fixe” representing the composer’s love for Harriet Smithson Harold in Italy - symphony with viola solo part rejected by Paganini for excessive number of rests Felix Mendelssohn (German, Romantic) Symphony No 5, “Reformation” - symphony written for 300th anniversary of the Augsburg Confession, whose finale opens with solo flute quoting Martin Luther’s “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” Incidental Music to A Midsummer Night’s Dream - Contains famed Overture and “Wedding March” Other notable works: Violin Concerto in E minor; String Octet in E-flat major; Symphony No 3, “Scottish”; Symphony No 4, “Italian” Frederic Chopin (Polish, Romantic) Etudes - “Revolutionary” Etude - written to commemorate the bombing of Warsaw Preludes - “Raindrop” Prelude - so nicknamed for the repetition of an A Minute Waltz - legendarily inspired by (female) lover George Sand’s dog chasing its own tail Piano Sonata No 2 in B-flat minor-contains the famed “funeral march”

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Robert Schumann (German, Romantic) Carnaval - contains movements contrasting composer’s alter egos Florestan and Eusebius Scenes from Childhood / Kinderszenen (“kin-dust-SANE-in”) - 13 short piano works, including the composer's popular "Traumerei" ("Dreaming") Other notable works: Symphony No 1, “Spring”; Symphony No 3, “Rhenish”; Piano Concerto in A minor; Dichterliebe Clara Schumann (or Clara Wieck; German, Romantic) Wife of Robert; a pianist who had a close relationship with Johannes Brahms after her husband was committed to an asylum Also composed; her works include a piano concerto Franz Liszt (Hungarian, Romantic) As touring pianist, created “Lisztomania” among followers Hungarian Rhapsodies - difficult pieces on largely Hungarian themes; second, which consists of a lassan and friska, is most popular Other notable work: Transcendental Etudes Giuseppe Verdi (Italian, Romantic) – best known for operas Requiem - tenor solo “Ingemisco” within its famed second movement “Dies Irae” Johann Strauss II (“the second”; also “Strauss the younger”; Austrian) Known as the “Waltz King” “The Blue Danube” - waltz that typically serves as the Vienna New Year’s Concert encore piece, popularized by the docking scene in 2001: A Space Odyssey Johannes Brahms (German, Romantic) Wiegenlied (Lullaby) - theme features “D-C sharp-D” motif used in composer’s second symphony; dedicated to Bertha Faber A German Requiem - written for the composer’s mother, using text from the Luther Bible Hungarian Dances - set of 21 tunes based on Hungarian themes; originally for piano four hands; most popular are 1st and 5th entry Other notable work: Symphony No. 1 Camille Saint-Saens (French, Romantic) The Carnival of the Animals “The Swan” - made into a ballet excerpt choreographed by Michel Fokine “Fossils” - xylophones represent rattling bones, as in the composer’s Danse Macabre (see below) Danse Macabre - depiction of a “Dance of Death”; features harp playing 12 notes to mark stroke of midnight and a solo violin tuned scordatura Modest Mussorgsky (Russian, member of “Mighty Five”) Night on Bald Mountain - inspired by Gogol’s “St John’s Eve,” depicts a witches’ sabbath on title landform Pictures at an Exhibition - collection inspired by paintings of Viktor Hartmann, orchestrated by Maurice Ravel Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian, Romantic) 1812 Overture - celebrates failure of Napoleon’s invasion of Russia, with finale featuring cannons Other notable works: Violin Concerto in D major; Piano Concerto No 1 in B-flat minor; Symphony No 6, “Pathetique” Antonin Dvorak (Czech, Romantic) Symphony No 9, “From the New World” - inspired by Native American music and black spirituals; its Largo inspired hymn “Goin’ Home” Other notable works String Quartet No 12, “American”

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Edvard Grieg (Norwegian, Romantic) Peer Gynt Suites - “In the Hall of the Mountain King” - accelerates and crescendos to depict a chase by trolls up until a sunrise stops them Also included “Morning Mood” and “Anitra’s Dance” - a tempo di mazurka piece punctuated by the triangle, depicting a dancing Bedouin princess Other notable works: Piano Concerto in A minor; Lyric Pieces Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (Russian, member of “Mighty Five”) Scheherazade - suite inspired by the Arabian Nights “Flight of the Bumblebee” - excerpt from The Tale of Tsar Saltan filled with runs of chromatic sixteenths John Philip Sousa (American “March King”) “The Stars and Stripes Forever” - National March of the U.S. with noted solo for piccolo Edward Elgar (English, Romantic) Pomp and Circumstance Marches - best-known for 1st march (“The Land of Hope and Glory”), which is often used in graduation ceremonies Enigma Variations - variations on a “hidden” theme, each picturing a friend (or the composer himself) Other notable work: Cello Concerto in E minor Gustav Mahler (Austrian, Late Romantic) “Songs on the Death of Children” to poems by Friedrich Ruckert Symphony No 1, “Titan” - contains funeral march based on “Frere Jacques” Symphony No 2, “Resurrection” - ends with a setting of a (modified) poem by Klopstock which titles this symphony Symphony No 6, “Tragic” - features three “hammer blows of fate” performed with a giant mallet Symphony No 8, “Symphony of a Thousand” - symphony based on hymn Veni Creator Spiritus and Part II of Goethe’s Faust; named for the immense size of its premiering ensemble Other notable works: Kindertotenlieder; Symphony No 1, “Titan”; Song of the Earth (Das Lied von der Erde) Claude Debussy (French, Impressionist/Symbolist) Suite Bergamasque - so named after mentioned of "bergamaskers" in Verlaine's "Clair de Lune" “Clair de Lune” - 9/8 song based on a poem by Paul Verlaine Other notable work: La mer Richard Strauss (German, late Romantic) Also Sprach Zarathustra - opens with a “Sunrise” movement, in which a trumpet plays a rising C-G-C motif, popularized by the opening of 2001: A Space Odyssey Paul Dukas (French) The Sorcerer's Apprentice - tone poem based on Goethe poem, popularized by Disney’s Fantasia Jean Sibelius (Finnish, Late Romantic) Finlandia - nationalistic tone poem performed under other titles to avoid Russian censorship Other notable works: Violin Concerto in D minor Scott Joplin (black American ragtime composer) Maple Leaf Rag - titled for a club in Sedalia, Missouri The Entertainer - inspired by “James Brown and his Mandolin Club”

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Gustav Holst (English, Late Romantic) The Planets - astrologically-based suite Key movements include “Mars, the Bringer of War” (militaristic opener in 5/4, with strings playing col legno) and “Neptune, the Mystic” (closes the suite; itself closes with doors closing on women’s choir, creating a “fade out” effect) Maurice Ravel (French, Impressionist) Bolero - commissioned by Ida Rubinstein, and known for its incessant snare ostinato Bela Bartok (Hungarian ethnomusicologist) Collected his home country’s folk music alongside fellow composer Zoltan Kodaly Concerto for Orchestra - piece highlighting the entire orchestra that features a "Game of Pairs" Other notable work: Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta Igor Stravinsky (Russian, with “Russian,” “neoclassical,” and “serialist” periods) The Rite of Spring - ballet that caused riot at its Parisian premiere The Firebird - ballet depicting Russian legend of Ivan Tsarevich slaying Kashchei the Deathless with help of title creature Sergei Prokofiev (Russian (Soviet), modernist and neoclassical) Peter and the Wolf - “symphonic fairy tale for children” that uses a string quartet to depict the first title character and a trio of horns to represent the second; the Grandfather is notably depicted with the bassoon George Gershwin (American) Rhapsody in Blue - jazzy composition premiered by Paul Whiteman’s jazz band An American in Paris - tone poem featuring four taxi horns and a noted tuba solo; inspired a 1951 musical film of the same name starring Gene Kelly Aaron Copland (American, queer, modernist) Appalachian Spring - ballet containing variations on Shaker hymn “Simple Gifts” Rodeo - ballet starring a cowgirl, roper, wrangler, & rancher’s daughter; ends with a “Hoe-Down” Fanfare for the Common Man - commissioned by Eugene Goosens to commemorate WWII servicemen Other notable work: A Lincoln Portrait Dmitri Shostakovich (Russian, oft-accused of “formalism”) Symphony No 7, “Leningrad” - symphony with a 22-bar “invasion” theme Other notable work: Symphony No 5 John Cage (American, Buddhist, queer, avant-garde) 4’33” (“four minutes, thirty-three seconds”) - silent piano piece premiered by David Tudor Benjamin Britten (British, queer, modernist) The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra - based on theme by Purcell, with narration introducing each of the featured instruments John (Coolidge) Adams (American, (post)minimalist) On the Transmigration of Souls - winner of the 2003 Pulitzer; commemorates 9/11 victims, and opens with young boy repeating the word “missing” Other notable work: Short Ride in a Fast Machine

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Further resources: https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic https://www.naxos.com/education/glossary.asp https://www.classicalarchives.com https://www.musictheory.net http://ai.stanford.edu/~csewell/culture/ https://www.naqt.com/you-gotta-know/ Alex Ross - The Rest is Noise (book) Harold C Schonberg - Lives of the Great Composers (book)

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